Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) drew a quadrangular parachute and stated that: "Anyone that has a twelve by twelve yard canvas can jump from any height with complete tranquillity."
Blanchard claimed the invention of the parachute in 1785.
J. Garreri was the first person in the world to jump with a parachute (1797).
U.S. Pat. No. 221,855 of Nov. 18, 1879, describes a safety device for escaping from fires in buildings. It consists of a small parachute whose cords are fastened to a shell the person wears, in combination with shoes equipped with thick elastic cushions intended to dampen the impact with the earth.